Mobile Internet in GDP Among Asian Countries

According to the study for Southeast Asian (Asean) countries, Singapore has twice the mobile adoption rate within the region, Oxford Economics reported.

With five out of world’s top 10 markets, Asia is a global leader in the mobile industry. Oxford Economics survey1 reveals that, by 2020, mobile internet penetration will rise in Southeast Asia with a million jobs potentiality and will add an extra $1.5bn to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Over the next five years, leaders in the growth of mobile internet penetration and economic impact are expected to be countries with underdeveloped, but sizeable consumer markets, such as Indonesia and the Philippines. Regional governments’ efforts will play an important role to promote economic opportunity.

Almost two-thirds of the enterprises are not comfortable in investing in the mobile business where the authorities are applying the traditional telecom regulation to mobile services, according to the report.

“The fact that the market environment is so dynamic raises the risk of governments acting in haste and making policy errors, potentially stymying the growth potential of the mobile industry,” the report said.

According to the Quah Mei Lee, the industry principal of digital transformation, Asia Pacific, at Frost & Sullivan2, broadband internet or FTTH (fiber to the home) is the fastest growing market in Southeast Asia whereas mobile internet is not as significant as broadband.

She said that mobile internet is less accessible in developing countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia whereas the growth is more significant in developed countries like Singapore and Brunei. The advancement of Mobile internet is proportionally higher in developed countries because of the higher education levels and affordability which consequently has the biggest impact on a country’s working population and acts as an economic growth driver.

Challenges

To drive a higher mobile internet growth, the existing poverty levels is one of the biggest challenges in most of the countries in Southeast Asia, where 30% of the population earns less than $3.10 a day.

The data cost must be reduced in countries like Myanmar and Indonesia in order to meet the local affordability levels. Also, there are some other difficulties such as the lack of awareness on the mobile internet development, particularly in rising countries, and it should be ensured that every country has an effective regulation, and the mobile internet & data plan wages are not subject to government taxes and fees as they must meet the local affordability level as well.

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